Leilani Green
Leilani Mitchell Green (born Leilani Seamah Mitchell; born June 15, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Green was drafted 25th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2008 WNBA Draft. She is also a member of Australia women's national basketball team (the Opals). In high school, she was the Illinois State Player of the Year, the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year, and a McDonald's All-American. In her freshmen year at Memphis in 2008, she set the single-season NCAA record for three-pointers made and became the first freshmen to win the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the nation, while leading her team to the championship game. Green has won WNBA championship (2014) and set the WNBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season with 125. She has been selected to six WNBA All-Star teams and six All-WNBA teams. In 2019 she became the first WNBA player to win the Most Improved player award twice and the second WNBA player to join the 50-40-90 club. Early Life and Family Green was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the only daughter of Dennis Mitchell and Lena Parker. Her mother is American and her father is Australian. She has seven brothers—Travis, Reggie, Paul, Tyler, Troy, Jeff, and Robbie and four sisters—Mariah, Kyra, Kara, and Kayla. Growing up, Green considered her older brother Jeff as a role model and cites her as a reason she got started in basketball. "I just wanted to do whatever he did. I wanted to hang out with him all the time and just be hardcore. We were best friends." Green has dual citizenship with both the United States of America and Australia. Green's father died from cancer in 2009. Green began playing basketball at the age of four; in fifth grade, she decided to improve her game. Now five feet five inches tall, she had always been short for her age, which often meant coaches wanted her to be a point guard. So her brother Paul thought it would help if she had ball handling skills, and a perimeter shooting ability. Green started a routine of dribbling around her block, wearing headphones. She completed enough loops to cover a mile. She continued the routine almost every day, improving her ball handling to the point she routinely dribbled behind her back or between her legs. High school career Like her older brother Paul Pierce, Green played basketball at Martin Luther King High School in Chicago, Illinois, where the Jaguars had an amazing combined record of 121-7. For her freshman year, she averaged 20.5 points and 10.1 assists, setting the state record in assists with 303 while averaging a double-double. As a sophomore, she averaged 24.4 points and 10.0 assists, she broke her own school record for assists in a season with 311. During her junior year she averaged 29.5 points, 8 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 5 steals. In her senior year, she averaged 29 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 5.4 steals and 2.2 blocked shots. Green became the nation's all time leader in assists (1,292), and finished her career 3,320 points, the fourth-highest girls' scoring total in Illinois history and also holds school records for three point field goals (508) and steals (754). During her time there, Green led the Jaguars to four consecutive state titles and this accomplishment earned the team a congratulatory resolution from the General Assembly of the State of Illinois. In addition to basketball, she also lettered in cheerleading and softball. She was also an excellent student, as she graduated from high school with a 3.9 grade point average and earned a Chicago County Legislature proclamation for high academic achievement, community service and excellence in basketball. Green was a three-time Illinois' Gatorade Player of the Year. She participated in the 2007 McDonald's All-America Game, where she scored 24 points. In the March 30, 2007, issue of Sports Illustrated, she was part of its Faces in the Crowd segment. Green chose Memphis over Duke, but was able to keep her friendship with Duke alum Lindsey Harding after visiting the university. College career As a freshman, Green led Memphis to a 36–2 record in the 2007–08 NCAA season, their best record in school history. She became the fourth NCAA Division I player in the past decade to register 600 points, 200 assists and 100 steals in a single season. During the season, she set many Memphis freshman records including points, assists, steals, field goals made, field goals attempted, three-point field goals made, three-point attempts, three-point percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted, free throw percentage, games played, games started, minutes played, double-figure scoring games, double-doubles, her 808 points ranked second on the NCAA's single-season chart for a freshmen and her 130 three-pointers is NCAA single season record. She won five Conference USA Player of the Week awards, more than any other player in the C-USA. Following the end of the regular season, Green was the first freshman - man or woman - to win Conference USA Player of the Year and only the third freshman in history to be named to the Associated Press All-America First Team, USBWA All-America First Team. In the Conference USA Tournament, Green earned Most Outstanding Player honors after leading the Tigers to their third championship in school history. On March 24, 2008, she scored a career-high 44 points in a triple-overtime win over Stanford, 30 points aganist Maryland in the Elite Eight; a week later, her three straight three-pointers in overtime propelled Memphis over heavily favored UConn, where they would reach the final for the first time in school history before losing to the University of Tennessee. Additionally, Green was awarded the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation's top point guard, the first freshmen to win the award. College statistics Source Professional career New York Liberty (2008–13) Green was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury twenty-fifth overall in the second round of 2008 WNBA Draft. Green was then traded to the New York Liberty during the 2008 pre-season after the Liberty acquired Green in a trade in exchange for a 2009 third round draft pick. Initially a bench player, Green made her first professional start on June 6, 2008, in place of the injured Loree Moore. In her first career start against the Houston Comets she had team-high 18 points going perfect 6–6 from the floor including 3–3 from three-point range. During the 2008 season she developed a strong fan following and a reputation for fearlessness in grabbing loose balls and occasionally driving to the basket. Green was named to the All-WNBA Rookie First Team and set a rookie record for three-point field goals made with 72. She scored 14 points in the Liberty's narrow loss to the Detroit Shock in Game 3 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals. Green struggled in 2009 due to the death of father during the season, she still led the WNBA in assists per turnover ratio (2.92). Green had a breakout year in the 2010 season as she won Most Improved Player Award, and was named to the All-WNBA First Team for the first time. She became the starting point guard after the Liberty released Moore in the offseason. On the final day of the regular season, Green broke the WNBA record for three-pointers made in a single regular season. Mitchell finished the season with 125 made three pointers; 4 more than previous record holder Diana Taurasi. She lead the league in three-point field-goal percentage (48.6) becoming the first player in WNBA history to lead the league in both three-point field goals and three-point shooting percentage. In the 2011 season, she averaged 10.6 ppg and 4.6 apg. She was voted as a WNBA all-star that year. On September 2, 2011, Green scored then career high 24 points in a win against the Minnesota Lynx. However the Liberty lost to the Indiana Fever in the first round. In 2012, Green had re-signed with the Liberty to a multi-year deal once her rookie contract expired. The Liberty had a record of 15–19 and lost to the Connecticut Sun in the first round. Green had a smaller role on the team as her minutes were reduced and was downgraded back to a reserve on the Liberty's roster for the 2013 season. Phoenix Mercury (2014–2019) In February 2014, Green signed with the Phoenix Mercury in free agency. On July 24, 2014, Green scored a career-high 35 points, including a buzzer-beating three-point shot to send the Mercury into overtime, in a 108-105 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. After going down 3–1, she helped the Mercury rally to win the series 4–3 and advance to the WNBA Finals. Green won her first WNBA championship and had 16 assists to end the game. On June 12, 2015, vs Indiana Fever, Green scored season-high 25 points, going 7-10 from three point range. On July 5, 2015, Green hit the go ahead three-point shot in overtime with 3.9 seconds, in a 94-91 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. On August 27, 2015, she scored 16 points and made a three-pointer from the top of the key at the horn to give Phoenix a 81–80 win over the Connecticut Sun. In 2016, Mitchell announced that she was taking the 2016 WNBA season off as she was pregnant with her first child. She would return to the team in 2017 and be voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game. During the 2018 WNBA season, Green had been having problems with her ankle. Green was still able to play 31 games during the regular season and in the playoffs. Green missed the first two games of the 2019 WNBA season after giving birth to her son, Jason. On June 5, Green returned to practice with her teammates for the first time. She played her first game back from maternity leave the next day. On June 28, 2019, Green recorded her first career 20 double double as she had 20 points and career high 20 assists. She was voted to her sixth WNBA All-Star Game. On July 30, 2019, against the Washington Mystics, she scored then career-high 38 points and tied a WNBA-record 11 threes in a single game. Against her former team the New York Liberty, Green scored her career-high 39 points on August 27. The Mercury finished 15–19 with the 8th seed in the league and lost to the Las Vegas Aces in the first round elimination game. Green won the WNBA Most Improved Player Award, becoming the first player in either the NBA or WNBA to win the award twice. In 2019, she became the second woman to join the prestigious 50-40-90 club (50% field goals, 40% 3-point shooting and 90% free throws over a single season), marking great all-around shooters. Only Elena Delle Donne had previously achieved the feat in an WNBA season (twice consecutively). Washington Mystics (2020–present) In February 2020, Mitchell signed with the Mystics in free agency. WNBL career During each WNBA off-season from 2008 to 2010, Green debuted in the Women's National Basketball League playing for the Adelaide Lightning in Australia. Green joined the Dandenong Rangers in 2010. She played for them in 2010 to 2012. For the 2010–11 season, Green won the the WNBL League MVP, being named the WNBL Finals MVP in that season and the next. For her last two years in Australian league, Green signed with the Sydney Uni Flames. Though expected to play through the end of the 2014–2015 season with the team, Mitchell announced her retirement from overseas competition after winning a championship. National team career United States Green was a member of the USA Women's Under-18 National Team, starting all five games at the 2006 FIBA Under-18 competition was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado and led the team with 17 assists, helping lead the team to the gold medal. Opals In the summer of 2010, she became a regular member on the Australian national team, the 'Opals at the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Green became a Australian citizen in 2009. She was a member of the 2012 Summer Olympics team that won a bronze medal. Green competed in the 2014 World Championship, helping the team win the bronze medal. She did not play in 2016 Rio Olympics and 2018 Worlds due to pregnancy. Personal Life Green was in a five-year relationship with NBA player Derrick Rose from 2004 to 2009. In July 2013, she became engaged to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A. J. Green, whom she met at her basketball game in 2011. They were married on March 21, 2015, on the coast of Miami, Florida. The couple have two sons; Easton Dennis (b. 2016) and Jason Avionce (b. 2019). Green is a Christian. "God is definitely my Savior. He's the one that walks beside me through my ups and downs and the one that keeps me focused on where I am going in life. He protects me. He provides for me. He guides me and he leads me." In popular culture Endorsements Green currently has had an endorsement deal with Nike for several years. In 2011, she was the focus of a promotional feature for the tie headband that became the official WNBA headband. Following the 2014 WNBA Finals, Green starred in a commercial for Xfinity and signed an endorsement deal with Visa. In August 2015, she co-starred in a Nike commercial called Snow Day also featuring Rob Gronkowski and teammate Diana Taurasi. In April 2016, she was named brand ambassador for Lifeway and appeared in a television commercial for Sprite the same year. She has a partnership with Bank of America and appeared in a television commercial for United Airlines. In June 2016, she joined Michael Phelps in partnership deals with Western Union. She also has endorsement deals with Seiko, Simple Skincare, BlackBerry, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and Gatorade. Media In 2009, Green became a supporting cast member in the reality television series The First Family. Green has been featured in Glamour, Shape, and Sports Illustrated magazines. She was on the covers of Vogue Magazine and Sports Illustrated. In 2012, she appeared in an ESPN feature called Title IX is Mine: WNBA. Green has made appearances on numerous television shows including: Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Live with Kelly and Michael, The Today Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. WNBA career statistics League leader 'Regular season' Postseason Awards and honors WNBA * WNBA champion (2014) * 2× WNBA Most Improved Player (2010, 2019) * ESPY Award for Best WNBA Player (2011) * 6× WNBA All-Star (2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019) * 3× All-WNBA First Team (2010, 2014, 2015) * 3× All-WNBA Second Team (2011, 2017, 2019) * WNBA regular season record for made three-pointers (125) College * Nancy Lieberman Award (2008) * Unanimous (USBWA, WBCA, AP) All-America First Team (2008) * CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team (2008) * Women's NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team (2008) * Single-season NCAA 3-point field goals (130, 2007–08) * ESPY Award for Best College Female Athlete (2008) Opals * Olympic Bronze Medalist (2012) * 2014 FIBA World Cup Bronze Medalist International * 2× WNBL Champion ( 2012, 2014) * 3× WNBL All-Star (2012, 2013, 2014) Biography TV See also * List of Australian WNBA players Reference list # Jump up^ Booth, Doug (December 26, 2013).Star Ranger laps up Territory Christmas. NT News (page 49). Retrieved 2014-06-11 # Jump up^ Basketball Australia. Player: Leilani Mitchell. Retrieved 2016-02-15. # Jump up^ FIBA World Championship for Women. Joyce thrilled to get Mitchell on board. Retrieved 2014-04-18 # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # Jump up^ VandalProfile: Leilani Mitchell # Jump up^ WNBA Player of the Week Leilani Mitchell puts herself on Brendan Joyce's Opals radar. news.com.au. Retrieved 2014-06-11 # Jump up^ Potter, Jarrod (January 20, 2014). The colour of Opal. Star News Group Pty. Retrieved 2014-06-11 # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # Jump up^ # Jump up^ ESPN - Timing is everything for Mitchell, Tigers - Women's College Basketball # Jump up^ # Jump up^ http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/leilani_mitchell/bio.html Leila Mitchell Bio # Jump up^ http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/ny-splib075718291jun07,0,4672694.story # Jump up^ # Jump up^ # Jump up^ Leilani Mitchell to Sit Out 2016 WNBA Season # Jump up^ Mercury Sign Leilani Mitchell, Jasmine James # Jump up^ LFB: Season 2009-2010 External links * WNBA player * WNBA player profile G